It's Not a War Zone
by SilverCivet
Summary: Hero's Cuties AU. Calhoun gets flown into a small town to help cope with her PTSD. Little did she know that she would meet a very persistent handyman that worked at her new apartments.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Wreck it Ralph or the characters. Disney does. Written with co-author from another site, Scuba

She still didn't fully believe she was doing this, being pretty much forced to move into a place like this. A small town, a quiet apartment building, knowing no one in the area. That last part didn't make much of a difference. She didn't really know anyone anymore, at least none that she would hang out socially with. Looking up at the apartments in front of her she sighed.

Calhoun was a tall, even for a woman standing around 6 foot; blond hair cut short partially covering her ice blue eyes. She held a box under her right arm, it wasn't a particularly heavy item, and the rest of her stuff was arriving in the morning. These were just the necessities. Running her free hand though her hair she climbed the short set of stairs to enter the building. She already had the info to her new apartment, having been given the key earlier that day by the person who had arranged her living there.

After what she had gone to today, being put on hiatus, flown out overnight on a plain from the base overseas that she was originally stationed at and having to settle into a town she knew nothing about. She had seen her new appointed therapist as soon as she arrived; she was scheduled to see him twice a week. Being forced to listen to him spout nonsense like 'she was safe' and 'there was nothing she could have done' like she was some insane person. She knew she was safe.

The lobby was quiet, which she was fairly thankful for. She was tired, wanting nothing more at the moment then going into her apartment and laying down. Her bed wouldn't arrive until the next morning, but she had slept in worse places then on the floor. Finding the elevator easily located at the back of the lobby, she hit the up button and waited for it to reach the lobby.

The Niceland apartment complex was nothing special, but to Felix it was home. He loved tending to the needs of the tenants, and making sure that everything in the building was in tip-top shape. Not to mention the fact that he was always near two of his very best friends – Ralph and Vanellope.

The two siblings couldn't have been more different from each other. One, a huge, hulking man standing well over 6 feet (probably leaning closer to 7, now that he thought about it) – and the other, a small and diminutive little girl of 9-years, who was no higher than 4"5'. They were an odd pair, but boy, they sure were fun to hang around with.

Despite the fact that they were always on each other's case for one reason or another.

This moment was no different, as the trio was currently locked away in the darkened room of Ralph's apartment with nothing but the flickering blue glow of the television in front of them to light the room.

"No, dummy! We're supposed to be working _together!_" The little girl exclaimed, raising her controller into the air. "I press A, then you press B! It's all very simple, Ralph." The child sat back into the large couch she was sitting on and rolled her eyes, repositioning the controller in her hands once again with a huff. It would appear that they were in a very heated game of Mario Party.

Ralph shot her a half hearted glare out of the corner of his eye. "I am pressing that! It's not my fault you weren't in the right place when I did it." He tilted the controller slightly as he played, his eyes directing back to the screen.

Try as he might, Vanellope was always better at games like this then him, though he was no slouch at it himself. But sister or not he never willingly let her win, well not often that is. The two of them lived alone in the apartments, which he was sure Vanellope loved, not having to listen to their parents as they rarely visited. They were usually too busy anyway.

"Oh yeah, blame me." Vanellope rolled her eyes and turned back towards the screen with a new look of determination. She stuck her tongue out of her mouth slightly, and her eyes narrowed towards the screen. A melodious jingle sounded that signaled the end of the game sounded from the television but a moment later, and the girl threw her controller into the air and sat back into the couch with crossed arms. "Way to go, stink brain!"

Felix, who had been sitting on the floor in front of the couch laughed and placed his controller on the ground. He, like Ralph, wasn't the best when it came to these newer games – but it always seemed easier to win when the two were in the midst of an argument.

"Good game." He told them with a grin, to which Vanellope just huffed again and stared at the still-flickering screen in an angry pout. That was his cue. Pushing himself up into a standing position, he turned to face them and repositioned the hat that was on his head. He was still /technically/ on-duty, and had only decided to take a little break to spend time with his two friends. "Well, I'd better get back to work." He told them with a sheepish grin, pointing over his shoulder back towards the door. "Will I see you guys tonight?" He asked the two hopefully as he made his way over to the door.

"Yeah, yeah." The pouty child answered back. Oh, Ralph was going to get it for making them lose again.

Running a hand through his messy hair he gave Vanellope a look. "Oh yeah, it's always my fault, kid. If you didn't keep distracting me maybe we would have won!" He wasn't overly concerned with winning, it was just a game after all but when they lost as a team she would always start something. They had been at it for a while before Felix showed up, so standing up he stretched, working out his stiff muscles.

He wore a set of overalls and a plaid shirt underneath. Luckily for him he didn't really have anywhere he needed to go today so they had just been relaxing. "Yeah, just stop by when you get everything finished." Ralph knew he had a job to get back to; it tended to keep his friend pretty busy on certain days.

"Great! See you!" The maintenance man replied cheerfully, opening the door and closing it behind him to allow himself out into the hall. It was somewhat of a relief to avoid another Ralph vs. Vanellope moment, but he knew the two only ripped on each other all the time because it was easier than showing 'feelings'. Which, he was still unsure why that was such a big deal.

He disregarded the thought with a shrug, and pulled out a small piece of paper from his pocket, glancing down at it. It was a list of the various stops he had to make among the apartment that day. Complaints that tenants had made regarding things that needed repairing, and just general occurrences.

One in particular stood out, and that was the arrival of a new tenant; and while he was normally shy by nature, he prided himself on making the apartment a very welcoming environment. So he always liked to go up and see how the newbies were settling in.

As the elevator arrived, Calhoun moved inside of it, hitting the button for the 7th floor. When the doors closed she leaned back against the rear of the elevator and waited for it to climb. She wore casual military attire, having come from the base earlier. Baggy camouflage pants and a green wife beater and despite her being on leave, she still had her dog tags hung around her neck though at the moment they were hidden in her shirt. Reaching the 7th floor the elevator produced a 'bing' as the doors opened.

Stepping out she reached into her pocket, pulling out a piece of paper with her key wrapped inside of it. Using her free hand she opened it up and read the numbers '804', her apartment number. Glancing around, she found that she was currently at 700 with an arrow going up pointing to her left. Figuring she wasn't far from it now she headed down the hall to her apartment.

Finally finding her door she turned the paper over in her hand, taking the key between her fingers as she reached forward to unlock her door. It was indeed a little awkward with the box in her hand but she was almost inside.

Focusing more on fitting the key in the lock and not dropping the box, she hadn't noticed the handyman behind her until he spoke. Her body tensed at the surprise as her body reacted as if on her own. The 15+ hour flight from Afghanistan yesterday into this morning, the therapist and driving here from the base had her nerves a little frazzled with lack of sleep and frustration.

'Room 709', he read to himself, and headed to the elevator. It let him out at the 8th floor, and to his surprise, he was greeted with an unfamiliar woman holding a box. That must have been her. He grinned and walked quickly to close the space between them, and coming up behind her, he asked "Do you need help with that, miss?"

In one smooth motion she dropped her box, brought her leg up which connected with his stomach sending him back into the wall of the hallway behind her. Spinning around she pulled a small hand gun out from the back of her cargo pants, aiming it at his chest as she kept him pinned to the wall with her free hand. "What do you want?" Her voice was sharp, a bit of a wild look in her eyes. The Sergeant wasn't one to like surprises, that was for sure.

Before he could even process what was happening, a swift foot connected with his stomach and sent him all but flying into the wall behind him. He grunted on impact, and opened his eyes wide in shock, letting out a surprised yelp when he saw the gun, and holding his shaking hands out towards her in a gesture of surrender.

He certainly hadn't seen _that_ coming.

"I-I'm Felix, ma'am! I'm the superintendent!" He said frantically, looking up to meet her gaze in a panic, "I – ohh..." he trailed off when his worried eyes locked onto her piercing blue ones, and despite the situation, he smiled a little. "Your eyes…" he began, losing himself for a moment, "They're amazing." He droned out dreamily, leaning forward slightly and apparently forgetting the fact that she had a gun pointed at him.

She glanced him over slightly, not quite believing him right away, she wasn't an overly trusting person with people she didn't know. Her eyes narrowed slightly at his words but she slowly lowered the pistol, switching the safety back on as she tucked into the back of her cargo pants again. There was a bit of uncertainty in the back of her mind. She had just pulled a gun on the super of the building. This may turn out to be a short living arrangement after all.

"Flattery doesn't charge these batteries. State your business." She crossed her arms over her chest as she took a step back to look down at him, the box she had dropped a moment ago lay forgotten on the floor by her door along with her key.

"Oh," he took a moment to clear his throat as she stepped away from him, and took off his hat – both as a sign of respect, and so that he could have something to nervously ring in his hands. "I… just saw that you were having trouble with that box there, and thought I would help," he pointed quickly to the box that had previously lay forgotten at their feet. "You just moved in, didn't you?" He asked shakily, though he already knew the answer.

He prided himself on the fact that he was on relatively good terms with many of the tenants. Though this woman, he had never seen before; and despite her stunning outward appearance, managed to be more than a little intimidating. Not that it would stop him from welcoming her to the building. The fact that she had a gun might have been a problem though.

His mannerisms and appearance didn't much say that he was a threat to her, so she rolled her shoulders slightly as she forced herself to relax. Her reaction was something she needed to work on or it could get her into more trouble then she may already be in.

"Thanks for the offer, but I can manage." Turning away from him she picked up her box and the key again. "Yes...I just got in this morning." Shifting her weight she rested the box on her hip as she turned to look at him again.

"Well, welcome!" Felix greeted, placing his hat back on his head. He was beginning to relax again after the whole 'gun-scare'. She didn't seem all that confrontational anymore, so he just assumed that he had taken her off-guard or something. "If you need anything, I'm down on the first floor. 103. Stop by anytime." He told her, taking a step back towards the elevator. "If I'm not there, I'm probably in 216 with a couple of my friends. So just knock!" He grinned, glancing down towards the box she was carrying again. It didn't seem like much, for someone who was just moving in. "Are you sure I can't offer you any help?"

Calhoun nodded slightly at his words. "..I'll keep that in mind." Despite what her therapist said, she doubted she would go seeking him or anyone else for that matter anytime soon. All she could think about now was getting inside her new apartment and resting, maybe taking a shower.

She watched him, unsure what to really make of him. He sure seemed to be the helpful type, but why would he try to be so helpful to someone he doesn't even know? What would he want in return? "This is all I have for right now, my other things aren't coming till tomorrow so its fine."

"Well alright, ma'am – I hope you settle in fine." He tipped his hat to her and turned to make his way back to the elevator. He opted to take the stairs this time, and opened the door leading to the stairwell. He looked back at her for a moment, and couldn't stop the dreamy grin from spreading across his face. Though he caught himself this time, and ducked into the stairwell before she could see him. Or so he hoped.

He brought out his list again and took another glance at it. There was a pipe in the basement that had apparently burst and needed to be looked at, so he figured he'd go take care of that before meeting up with Ralph and Vanellope later that night. Though as he did, he couldn't get the thought of that woman out of his mind. She sure was something else.

She watched after him for moment before moving back to her door to unlock it. He sure was different, that was for sure. Not many people, the soldiers she commanded included could take a loaded gun being pointed at him and recover that fast. Finally getting the door open, she looked inside briefly before she found herself glancing in the direction the handyman had gone.

The look he was directing at her wasn't something she was entirely unused to, but it wasn't like it normally was. Most men only had one thing on their mind, but that look she had just caught was something different entirely. Shaking her head slightly she headed into her apartment.


	2. Chapter 2

The rest of the day hadn't been nearly as eventful as those few moments he had spent with Ms. Calhoun. He knew he shouldn't have been prying, but she had crossed his mind more than once throughout the day. So he had taken it upon himself to find out her name by checking the updated tenant roster.

Miss T. Calhoun.

Her first name was a mystery, but he supposed he would find it out in time. It was part of his job to make sure that everyone felt welcome in the building; or, at least he considered it a part of his job.

Despite the distraction, he managed to get through many of the things that had been on his list, and had ordered some supplied for projects that would probably be a little longer running. But the workday was done, and that meant that it was time to meet up with Ralph and Vanellope. Usually when the 4th grader returned home from school, and Felix was finished with work, the trio of friends would go to Tapper's – a local bar/restaurant that was near the apartment to just hang out and enjoy each other's company.

It was always fun, and it seemed at least one of them always had something interesting to say.

After going to their room and knocking on the door, Vanellope was quick to answer it. Obviously she was over both her and Ralph's loss from earlier that morning, because the girl seemed to be bouncing off the walls in excitement.

"Ralph, come on!" The girl called to her older brother, zipping out into the hall. "And try not to smack your head on the doorframe again! Even though that was hi-lar-ious." She snickered at the memory.

Ralph had changed into something more appropriate for going out to a restraint then his broken pair of overalls and wore a pair of jeans and a simple t-shirt. "I'm coming, I'm coming. And aren't you ever going to drop that? It's not my fault the doorways in these apartments are too small." He huffed slightly, looking to Felix and rolling his eyes. "Did you get everything done you wanted to today, buddy?"

Ralph always enjoyed going to Tappers with the two of them, despite it having a bar it was a pretty low key place and always had prompt service.

When Ralph finally exited the room, Vanellope was quick to take off down the hall towards the front door, and leaving Felix to walk beside Ralph after her. She kept running, stopping only when a tall figure stood in her way. She skidded to a halt and stared up at the tall woman with wide, inquisitive eyes. "Woaah," she breathed, and took on a huge grin, "Hey, lady!" She greeted the new face with a cheeky wave, as she waited for the other two to catch up.

Heading back up to her room after getting a sleeping bag out of her car that she had neglected to grab earlier, she stopped short in the lobby as a young girl skid to a stop in front of her. Who would let their kid run around this pace by themselves? She wasn't used to a small town like this or an apartment complex where people didn't feel the need to lock their doors. "erh….Hey there."

"Hey!" The 9 year old answered without an ounce of shyness. In fact, she placed her hands behind her back and began rocking on her heels. "You're not from here, are you?" She questioned, obviously not catching on to the fact that the older woman would probably have liked to be left alone. "I think I saw you getting some stuff out of a car when I came back from school." She explained as if she had been asked. After giving the woman and inquisitive once-over, she framed her chin with her thumb and forefinger to give her a thoughtful look. "Were you a hobo?"

It was then that Felix and Ralph turned the corner, and Felix gawked a little at the sight of the little girl, her back turned to them, speaking without hesitation to the person who had secretly been on his mind all day; and by the look on her face, the girl had apparently caught her off-guard.

"Vanellope…" Felix sighed a little, though decided to let Ralph deal with her. The little girl always seemed to be rushing into other people's business. Though he had to admire her sociability.

Calhoun looked around the girl, but at the moment she was blocking the elevator and didn't look like she planned to move. Shifting the sleeping bag under her arm she looked down at her again. She wasn't overly used to dealing with kids; it wasn't that she didn't like kids but more so she didn't usually get along with them due to her attitude. "I'm not from around here." Her eyes narrowed slightly at what she thought she was. "I am not a hobo."

As they rounded the corner, Ralph sighed at the sight before them. She was always getting herself into trouble it seemed. Quickening his pace he moved over and grabbed the back of her teal hoodie, pulling her back a bit. "…Sorry about that, she doesn't know the meaning of the word 'Personal space'."

"Sheesh," Vanellope crossed her arms and rolled her eyes as her older brother tugged her away from the woman. "I was just saying hi!" She proclaimed, "You never let me do anything… and ya know, more people might like you if you were just a /little/nicer!" The girl shot back at him, craning her head around to look at him with an annoyed expression.

Ralph huffed slightly, glaring down at his sister as he let go of her hoodie. "I am nice; you just keep sticking your nose into people's business. And you shouldn't keep asking if people are hobos." Turning back to the new woman in front of him he continued. "I'm Ralph, and this is my sister Vanellope. Are you the new tenant here?"

"…Just got in this morning" She looked between the two of them. They were an odd pair, didn't look much like siblings but who was she to judge. As she looked between the two she spotted someone behind them. It was the handyman from earlier. These must be the friends he had mentioned.

While Ralph introduced both himself and Vanellope, Felix had taken to staring at his shoes and clasping his hands together in front of himself nervously. He hadn't yet told Ralph or Vanellope about Ms. Calhoun, because he would have preferred to speak to Ralph about it while he was alone – not that he didn't value Vanellope's input; but the girl's wild imagination, hyperactivity, and complete lack of reservation sometimes lead her to act on things without thinking them through.

"This morning, huh?" The child spoke up again, dropping her angry expression and taking on a more excited one. "Have you met anyone yet?" She questioned, hopping forward a little, "Do ya like it here? Oh! Do you wanna come to dinner with us?" She asked, looking up towards the newcomer with wide, shiny eyes. She definitely had the whole 'speaking her mind' thing mastered.

Ralph glanced behind him to where Felix was, finally noticing he hadn't caught up to them. His attitude confused him a bit, usually Felix was the first to greet new tenants but he didn't seem to want to with this one. He'd have to ask about that later.

Calhoun took the way he was acting as normal for someone that just had a gun pointed at him a number of hours ago. She didn't blame him for that; she knew she had over reacted. Looking down at the young girl as she started to yammer on again she arched a brow slightly. She certainly had a lot of questions. "I haven't been here long enough, but this place is...different." Her next question surprised her though. This girl new nothing about her and she invited her to dinner with them? She hesitated for a moment before she spoke. "..Probably not a good idea, squirt."

"Aww, candy corn…" Vanellope kicked at the ground and stuffed her hands into the front pocket of her hoodie. She wasn't sure why, but this new tenant seemed like a lot of fun! "Well, maybe when you're not so busy! I'm sure Ralphie-boy would /love/ to help you unpack! Wouldn't ya, Ralph?" The girl taunted, nudging her brother's large leg with her tiny elbow. She then broke out into a fit of giggles and darted past the woman, freeing up the entrance to the elevator for her. "Last chance!" She called back to Calhoun, skipping to a stop by the door and turning to wait for everyone to catch up to her.

Ralph rolled his eyes as he started to follow after his sister. "That's probably the part that's a bad idea." He glanced back at the new tenant as he walked by. "She's right though, you're welcome to tag along if you want. Tappers has good food." He remembered what it was like when he had first moved in, figuring she didn't even have her kitchen stuff unpacked yet if she got there this morning, if she even had it yet.

Calhoun hesitated, she didn't have anything to make food aside from a few cups of instant ramen she had grabbed to tide her over. It also wasn't helping that she could practically hear her therapist screaming in her head that this is exactly what she needed. To get out and socialize, get her mind off of what happened. Though she'd much rather go to sleep after her long flight and drive on top of that, she was pretty hungry. Fast food and airline food didn't do much for her. "…Alright."

"Oh, YEAH! Follow me!" Vanellope cheered in delight, jumping into the air and running back over to Ralph to grab a hold of his larger hand and tug him along with her. Tapper's wasn't that far of a walk, but she had been lectured before about running off by herself before, and she was hungry! "Move your molasses, Felix!" She called back to the dawdling handyman. "You guys are so slow." She said through a smirk as they made their way out of the apartment.

"Coming," Felix assured the hyperactive girl, picking up his pace. As he walked past Calhoun, he offered her a bashful smile and hurried to close the distance between himself and Ralph. He would have been lying if he said he wasn't a little nervous at the idea of having dinner with her. To be honest, he felt as if they were being a little invasive. As far as he could tell, she seemed like quite the private type; and from their earlier encounter, he could say with the utmost confidence that she did /not/ like to be disturbed.

He had no clue what had pushed her to change her mind; but he was definitely curious.

Ralph took her hand; glad she was listening for once, sort of and headed out the front of the building. He'd have to have another talk to her later about bothering strangers that was for sure. He had noticed she was a little hesitant about coming, but agreed anyway. So there seemed to be no harm done this time.

Calhoun wasn't entirely sure this was a wise idea, but knew she'd never hear the end of it if she didn't try. And these people didn't look like much of a threat anyway so she figured she wouldn't have any problems with them. Shifting the sleeping bag in her hand she couldn't help but wonder just how much sugar that little girl ingested on a daily basis. As Felix walked past her she watched him for a moment before following him. Once outside she headed to her car first, dropping off the sleeping bag in her black jeep before following after them.


	3. Chapter 3

When they arrived at the restaurant, they were greeted by the friendly mustachioed bartender who stopped scrubbing the countertop to wave at them. "Hey fellas!" He greeted, "I was wondering when you guys'd be showing up. And oh – brought someone new, didja?" He noticed Calhoun with a chuckle, "Have a seat!"

"Thanks, Tapper!" Vanellope grinned widely, zipping off to her favorite place. It was a booth, and she plopped herself down onto the cushy seat and slid over to make room for whoever it was that was going to sit next to her.

Felix followed along after her after giving a wave to Tapper, and took the seat opposite her. His anxiety over this whole situation had not diminished since they had arrived, but he supposed since Calhoun had agreed to come with them, it must have meant that some part of her wanted to go. He supposed all they could try to do was offer her a good time; and on the bright side, it would be a great way to get her acquainted with a few people in the building!

Once they arrived, Ralph waved a large hand at the bartender. "Hey, Tapper. Yeah, Vanellope thought she'd show a new tenant some good food." He grinned before taking his usual seat beside his sister.

Calhoun was quiet as she followed after them. She wasn't used to people being this…friendly. It must be a small town thing. Sure, the troupes she commanded had respected her, but it didn't start out that way. She had had to knock a few heads to get them that way. There were a good amount of woman in the war front now, but very few of them made a rank like Sergeant so she had to earn respect.

When they walked in, she gave a slight nod to who she assumed was the places owner, given the others were calling him by the restraunt's name. As the others lead them over to a table, she took the only available seat and moved to take the spot next to Felix. "..So I take it you come here often?"

"Yes ma'am, all the time." Felix answered her back with a smile when it became obvious that no one else was going to answer her question. "This place actually opened up around the time Vanellope was born; so Ralph and I would come here to, um…" He cast Vanellope a sheepish glance at the look she was giving him.

"Get away from me?" She offered with a mock look of offense.

"That's not what I was going to say." He chuckled a little, "But we ended up getting to know Tapper really well, so now–"

"– It's our hang-out spot!" Vanellope piped up again, grabbing the menu that was in front of Ralph and opening it up in front of herself.

"If we were coming here to get away from you, I'd say it wasn't working to well." Ralph reached down and ruffled her unruly hair. He didn't bother looking at the menu already knowing what he would get, so he didn't argue as she took his. "It was more so to get away from my parents. They aren't the most…nurturing."

She nodded slightly, glancing around the place. It seemed like a pretty quiet joint and if the smells that permeated the air was anything to go by it seems there food was good as well. "Well this does seem like a good place to eat." She picked up her own menu and started to glance it over. They had a pretty good selection, typical pub style menu which worked for her and she had to admit she was pretty hungry.

Tapper himself soon came over to their table, a pleasant smile on his face and an empty beer mug in his hand. He cleaned the inside of the glass with a rag absentmindedly as he came to a stop in front of them.

"What can I get ya?" He asked, looking at the quartet.

"Ice cream!" Vanellope called out, smacking the menu that was in her hand onto the table. "With sprinkles. A /ton/ of sprinkles! And chocolate milk!"

Ralph rolled his eyes and took the menu from her. "Try again, you don't need sugar. Order some real food like some chicken nuggets or something."

Tapper chuckled and shook his head lightly. That girl was crazy about sweet stuff, so he wasn't surprised in the least – in fact, he had gotten to know all of them pretty well (excluding the new woman who now sat with them) that he could predict what they would all get.

"And I bet you want apple pie, right?" He turned to Felix, who just nodded at him and grinned. "And you two?" He turned to look at Ralph and Calhoun.

Ralph handed the menu to Tapper before sitting back slightly in his seat. "I'll just have a cheeseburger and a root beer."

Calhoun, who had just put down her menu when Tapper arrived, waited until the others had ordered before it was her turn. "I'll have the 12oz medium rare." She'd have to agree on Ralph on that one even though she didn't speak up; not thinking the kid needed more sugar.

"Aww, Raaalph!" Vanellope whined, tilting her head back to groan. "Fine, I guess I'll have chicken nuggets. But I still want that chocolate milk." She crossed her arms on the table and rested her head against them.

Tapper couldn't help but laugh at the siblings. He didn't think there had ever been a time when the two had come in here that they weren't on each other's case about one thing or another. "Be right back," he said through his friendly smile, turning to head back to the bar to place their orders.

"Ya see?" Vanellope spoke up to Calhoun when Tapper had left, "He never lets me do anything." She smirked lightly, and gave Ralph's large arm a playful shove.

"Fine, fine. You can have chocolate milk if you eat something semi-healthy." She tried that trick every time they came here, much rather having something sweet then healthy. Someone had to care for her, with their parents being gone all the time, he had her move in with him so at least she wouldn't have to be by herself after he moved out.

Calhoun arched a thin brow as they argued. Despite the constant bickering they seemed to share, she could tell they cared for each other. She glanced over at Felix before she spoke. "..Do they always act like that?"

"All the time," Felix answered her, looking at the two across from them with an amused smile. "If they're not bickering over something, then something's wrong," he chuckled, and turned to look at her now.

It was good that she had decided to hold off on unpacking for a little while to spend some time with them. He didn't like the idea of someone not feeling welcomed or comfortable in the apartment, so it was somewhat of a relief that she had decided to tag along – that is, if Vanellope and Ralph's arguing didn't drive her off again.

"So, how are you settling in?" He attempted to look cheerful, and not nervous. The truth was though, he had been looking for an excuse to speak to her again; and this was as good as any.

She shifted in her set slightly as she turned to look at him. He was a short man with perfectly combed hair. The man still had his work clothes on, which probably meant he had just gotten off. "…I'll be better off tomorrow when the rest of my things arrive. But I have enough to tide me over till then."She paused for a moment before continuing. "..Have all of you lived here long?" They had invited her to dinner, the least she could do was talk to them. It was what she was here to do anyway. Relax, have an attempt at an actual life.

"Oh yes! Well, most of my life anyways. My father actually founded the apartment, and I inherited it from him." Felix stated proudly. That was one of the reasons he took such pride in his job, and in making sure everyone was happy with everything. His father had always done such a great job with it, and made it look almost effortless.

"And Ralph dragged me along here with him a looong time ago," the girl recalled, sitting back against the booth. "It's pretty nice though; everyone's real friendly, and I even get my own room!" She excitedly proclaimed. Though some would argue that her room was nothing to be proud of. It was littered with clothes, and candy wrappers, and anything else that managed to catch the girl's attention. Also, the previous owner had absolutely drenched the walls in pink, and they had never bothered to repaint it. "So, what made you move in?"

Ralph smiled and ruffled her messy hair. "If you can call that a room." He turned to look across the table at the newcomer. "I moved in a few years ago, and 'Fix it' here welcomed me into the building. We've been friends ever since.

Calhoun tilted her head to the side slightly in confusion, her brow lifting again. "…Fix it?" She had through when they had met earlier his name was Felix, was that some sort of nick name? This certainly was an odd bunch.

Felix snickered at the familiar nickname and nodded, "Yes ma'am, 'Fix-It Felix'," he grinned, "Ralph gave me that nickname a little after he moved in… I, um – I was called to his place on business more than once, I can tell ya that." He laughed a little and folded his hands on top of the table.

"Yeah, only 'cuz Ralph kept breaking everything! I remember when we were moving in, Ralph was carrying WAY more boxes than he could handle, and of course he tripped up!" Vanellope pushed on Ralph's large arm again, a wide grin spreading across her face at the opportunity to tease her brother. "He went straight through the door, and Felix had to come fix it! It was priceless!" She broke out laughing, and punctuated the statement with a slap to her knee. "So we call gummy head here, 'Wreck-It'." She pointed to Ralph through her giggles.

Ralph rubbed the back of his head bashfully. "It's not like I mean to break things. I just can't help it sometimes." He glared slightly down at his sister as she made fun of him, though knowing it was all in fun.

Calhoun couldn't help but smirk slightly. "…So you're Wreck it…" She pointed to Ralph before directing her finger to Felix. "…And you're Fix it.." She turned her gaze to Vanellope. "What do they call you, Sugar Rush?" Calhoun took the conversation in the direction it was heading, not particularly feeling like talking about why she had moved into their small town. With a personality like the little girls, she'd probably pry to deep for her liking.

Vanellope was distracted by the change in topic, and laughed into her hands at Calhoun's remark.

"'Sugar Rush', I like that." She smirked, and was distracted even further by the arrival of Tapper – who was somehow managing to balance all four of their plates in his two arms.

"Here ya go, Ralph– " The bartender happily slid him his cheeseburger and root beer, "And Vanellope," he handed her a plate of chicken nuggets with a glass of chocolate milk balanced skillfully on the side, "Pie for Felix," he slid the plate with a slice of apple pie over to Felix, who looked down at it excitedly, "And here you are, miss," he finished, placing Calhoun's plate with a perfectly cooked medium rare steak on it. "Enjoy!" He told them, giving them all a smile and heading back over to the bar.

"Yeah!" The girl cheered, reaching straight for her milk and bringing the glass to her mouth.

Ralph chuckled slightly, glancing down at the smaller child next to him. "That certainly does fit her well" He shook his head though as Tapper arrived he pulled his plate a little closer to him. "Great, I'm starving."

She rolled her eyes slightly as she seemed to like that, which figured seeing her personality. As their food arrived she sat back slightly in the bench to allow Tapper to give Felix his pie first. She couldn't help but give it a bit of an odd look. It was still early in the evening. Pie for dinner? Keeping silent she chose not to address that. Who was she to criticize someone she had just met. Picking up her knife and fork she began to cut into her food.

The hyperactive child guzzled her sugary milk down in no time flat, and placed the now-empty cup onto the table with both hands and a satisfied "ah!" Bringing the sleeve of her arm up to wipe off the excess chocolate milk around her mouth, she grinned widely and picked up a fork, looking down at the chicken nuggets on her plate with a less-than-enthused expression. In fact, she leaned forward on her elbow, resting her chin in her hand as she almost absentmindedly picked at the breaded piece of meat. "How come /he/ gets sweet stuff for dinner, and I'm stuck with this?" She asked bitterly, looking down at the chicken.

Ralph took a large bite out of his burger before putting it down to give her a flat look. "Because he's older then you. When you're his age you can rot your teeth like he does with all the pies." He paused to eat a few fries before he continued. "..And if you eat all of it I may let you get a /small/ Sunday."

Calhoun watched the two bicker back and forth with an arched brow. The two weren't annoying at the moment with the fighting, it more amused her to see that big of a guy, someone who could probably rival one of her marines, play 'nanny' to a small girl like that.

"Hey now, I take care of my teeth - thank you very much." Felix called back to Ralph with a joking smirk, and took a forkful of pie off of his plate.

"Oh, yeah!" The girl cheered at Ralph's statement, looking down at her plate with a renewed sense of vigor. She shoved one of the chicken nuggets into her mouth and swallowed it, her nose wrinkling in distaste. She pushed through it though, and reached her short arm across the table to grab onto the ketchup bottle. Flipping it over and positioning it over top of her plate, she squirted just enough so that she was satisfied and discarded it, stabbing onto another small portion of chicken, dipping it into the red condiment, and plopping it into her mouth. "Little better." She commented, glancing up at Calhoun.

Calhoun couldn't help but watch as she piled ketchup onto her plate. She must really not like healthy food to use that much of a condiment. She wasn't a huge fan of the sweet stuff herself, but right now to her anything was better than the MREs she got back overseas. "..Do you want some more chicken with your ketchup?"

Felix couldn't help but hide a giggle behind his hand at her comment. It was true that Vanellope had terrible eating habits; but she was bouncing off the walls enough every day that he supposed she got more than enough exercise to make up for it.

Vanellope stopped eating her chicken for a moment to raise her bright eyes in the direction of Calhoun again, fork hovering right before her open mouth. "Hah! I like you; at least /someone/ here has a sense of humor." The girl grinned, rolling her eyes up at Ralph and popping the meat into her mouth.

Eventually she had finished off the entirety of her meal, and she pushed the messy plate away from her in satisfaction. "Can I have my ice cream now?" She asked her brother, clasping her hands in front of herself and blinking her wide eyes up at him, "Pleeaaaase?"

Ralph shook his head a bit in exasperation. She never did give up about the sweet stuff no matter what he tried. Taking the last bite of his hamburger he whipped his hands off on the pants to his overalls. What was he going to do with her? "Yeah, yeah. You can get a /small/ sundae." He couldn't help but give into her sometimes, and he knew that was his downfall.

She hadn't really meant it to be funny, she wasn't really known for joking, she had more been stating the obvious. The Sergeant was still unused to this whole social thing and when she was in the marines the last thing they had thought that she was, was funny. "If you say so, kid."

"Thanks, Ralph! I guess you're not a total downer /all/ the time." The girl nudged him once again, and eagerly awaited Tapper to return so she could order her dessert.

He showed up not too much long after, somehow always sensing when the patrons needed something, and was prompt in delivering the girl her extra course. It always was amusing to watch when Ralph and Vanellope showed up. Not only had the friendly bartender gotten to know them both fairly well, but he would admit that their antics were a hoot.

The girl wolfed down her ice cream in what seemed like seconds flat, and pushed the empty glass away from her with a satisfied grin. Leaning back once again against the cushy booth, the girl rested her arms behind her back and gave off a yawn. As much as she would hate to admit it, it was getting close to the time she normally went to bed; and she did have school the next day.

"Gee, thanks barf breath." He watched her for a moment, not knowing how she could eat that fast and not get a brain freeze. As she yawned though he took that as the usual cue. "WE should probably be heading back though." Leaning slightly to the side he pulled out his wallet and put some money on the table. "Think you two can handle walking home by yourselves?"

Calhoun hadn't quite finished, not quite used to the way the two of them had inhaled their food. She could notice that the young girl was already tired. She was only, what, 9? 10? So she figured she had school the next day. She was starting to feel tired herself, but it wasn't like she was going to keel over right then and there, there was enough time for her to finish her food. "I can handle a walk back."

"Sure thing Ralph. See you tomorrow!" The cheerful handyman replied, waving to his departing friends with the hand that wasn't currently holding onto a fork filled up with pie.

Vanellope, surprisingly, wasn't putting up too much of a fight at the prospect of getting out of there. The little troublemaker would probably start putting up a fuss when it came time for her to actually get to bed – but for now, she simply slipped herself off of the booth, and with another yawn, said: "Later! Nice meetin' ya!" And followed along after Ralph, leaving both Calhoun and Felix alone.

"See you guys later." Ralph waved one of his large hands as he waited for her to slide out of the booth. He was glad she wasn't arguing, but knew it probably wouldn't last. Putting his hand on her back he steered her out of the restaurant.

While previously Felix could hide behind his friends' company to avoid directly conversing with this mysterious new woman, the newfound privacy they had just been served completely erased that possibility. He tried desperately to think of something he could say, but nothing came to mind, and he was left picking at remainder of his pie with his fork.

"See you guys later." Ralph waved one of his large hands as he waited for her to slide out of the booth. He was glad she wasn't arguing, but knew it probably wouldn't last. Putting his hand on her back he steered her out of the restaurant.

Calhoun nodded in return to their good byes, watching them leave before turning back to her food. She glanced over at Felix out of the corner of her eye, seeing as he looked a bit nervous; she didn't blame him for it. Vanellope was the one that had her tag along not him; she had pulled a gun on him earlier in the day for just offering to help. Though maybe it was better to have him nervous around her. Until she got better control over everything, her reactions could end in problems for the handyman.


	4. Chapter 4

Felix continued to poke a piece of crust around on his plate; he glanced over to the woman beside him from the corner of his eye. She really was something else, and he /had/ been looking for an excuse to speak to her again. So, steeling himself for the conversation, he swallowed nervously, sat up straighter and put on a cheerful smile as he looked over at her.

"Have you been able to find everything alright?" He asked the least-awkward question he could think of, deciding to 'remain professional' instead of fawning all over her like he had when they had first met.

His movement attracted her attention again as he sat up straighter, looking over at him more out of instinct. She wasn't particularly on edge around him, he seemed pretty harmless but she did tend to hide her emotions and steel herself anyway out of habit. Calhoun had never been an overly outgoing person, she had been more so then she was now in the past before everything happened. "..Haven't really gone looking for anything yet, but this doesn't seem like a big town so I don't think I'll have too many problems."

Pausing for a moment she watched him. She could tell he was trying to be nice and strike up some kind of conversation with her, more than likely just trying to be nice before she continued. "Though I'll probably have to head to the store sometime tomorrow to get stocked up." She shrugged her shoulders slightly; it had been something she planned on doing after her things arrived.

"Oh, well alright!" Felix sat up cheerfully at her sort-of acceptance of his offer. She did seem like the type of girl who liked her privacy, so he didn't want to impose – but he could admit that the prospect of spending a little time with her was exciting. He cleared his throat a little and grinned. "And if you're done, I can go ahead and get the bill then meet you out front," he offered. It wasn't that far of a walk to the apartment, and he was certain that she knew the small area they had travelled by now; but it had gotten considerably darker since they had arrived, so it didn't hurt to be safe. Also, the idea of leaving her to walk back alone didn't seem all that nice.

She had finished most of what was on her plate, now realizing just how hungry she had been. It was a good meal, she'd have to remember this place for later and it helped that it wasn't too far away. At his words she nodded, though she looked slightly amused. This handyman who stood about a head shorter then her seemed to be worried, at least a little about her walking home by herself. Though he may have guessed she was military by her close, she didn't know for sure but she doubted he knew she was a Sergeant of the Marines.

"Alright, short stack. I should be heading back anyway…" She reached into her pocket, pulling out her wallet and counting out what she owed for her meal plus extra for a decent tip before handing it out to him.

"Oh no - it's on me ma'am. I insist!" Felix said with a grin and gently pushed her hand down. "You are new here, after all… Plus, Vanellope did kinda drag you along." He recalled with an embarrassed smile. He was glad the girl had gotten Calhoun to join them, but she had seemed a little preoccupied when she had insisted on it. He felt the need to make up for the inconvenience in some way. "You just wait, and I'll be back in a jiffy!" He assured her, and took off to the counter Tapper was still currently scrubbing down to pay

Her brows furrowed slightly in confusion. He had just met her this morning, not to mention she had attacked him and he was still offering to pay for her meal? What was with this guy? She didn't fully understand his motives. "You don't have to pay for me, I agreed to come along." There was no arguing with him though as he pushed her hand away and took off to pay. She watched after him briefly, shaking her head slightly as she put the money back away. In her mind now she owed him now, he hadn't had to pay for her dinner. Not seeing any use in fighting it further she headed outside while he paid. Standing about a yard away from the door she leaned against the building as she waited for him to finish, the camouflage pants and dark wife beater blending in almost perfectly against the shadows that fell there.

"Thanks, have a good night!" Tapper spoke happily, graciously accepting the money and opening the till with a tell-tale 'ka-ching!' before depositing the money he had been given into it and waving goodbye.

"Night Tapper, thanks for the meal!" Felix waved back to him, turning back around to see that Calhoun had already left. Not thinking much of it, he exited the restaurant himself and glanced around, but didn't see her anywhere. "Hm," his eyes narrowed slightly in confusion as he glanced around the area for her. Had she already took off to the apartment? He scratched his head and began walking slowly back to the apartment, all the while keeping an eye out for her. Though he wasn't nearly as observant as it took to notice her hidden amongst the shadows that were playing across the sidewalk.

As he started to head back she moved with trained silent steps to follow him, her long stride catching up fairly quickly. She didn't have any intention to startle him, she more so just moved that way out of habit. "So, do you always buy dinner for women that assault you in the halls of your apartments?" She arched a brow, looking down at him as she crossed her arms over her chest. When she reached him she slowed her pace slightly to match his.

The sudden voice off to his side had the handyman's heart leaping up into his chest, and he spun around in shock to look at whomever the voice belonged to. "Ohh, you startled me!" He laughed in relief, letting out a sigh and bringing his hand up to his chest. "And well, I can't say I've ever had the opportunity – no one's ever assaulted me before." He chuckled, moving his hand to rub the back of his neck in embarrassment.

He would have been lying if he'd said he wasn't unnerved by the fact that she'd pulled a gun on him – a fact that would need to be addressed at some point or another. For now though, he was just glad he'd gotten another excuse to speak to her one-on-one.

She watched him for a moment, a slight look of amusement crossing her face as he seemed startled by her, though that quickly vanished as she shrugged. "I suppose not in a place like this." Looking forward again she lapsed into silence for a few moments. She could see why they picked this town for her. It was warm, but not too hot, seemed very peaceful and quiet. Seemingly perfect for someone recovering from PTSD and a break down like hers. She scowled slightly at the thought but the look didn't last long either. After a moment she spoke up again, continuing on the thought she had earlier. "…Sorry about earlier. I just don't like surprises." Her voice was quiet as she glanced down at him out of the corner of her eye.

At the apology, Felix gave her a lopsided grin and shook his head lightly – hopefully to convey that she shouldn't worry about it. "I don't think I'll be forgetting that anytime soon, ma'am." He laughed a little, recalling the event. He had not been spooked like that in a /long/ time. Or, if he was being completely honest, he had never been spooked to that effect. Living in a small community where mostly everyone knew each other tended to keep things pretty peaceful. It was a little strange to see someone so tightly wound; not to mention seeing someone who owned an actual gun. "I've gotta ask though – why are you carrying something like a gun around? I really doubt you're gonna need that in this town."

She frowned slightly, looking ahead of her again. Her gun was carried everywhere with her, despite her therapist saying it wasn't necessary here either, but it was something she insisted on. "Never know when you may need it. Not everyone's as innocent they may appear." He himself seemed pretty genuinely nice, but she didn't trust many people, not anymore. And even before she always felt that trust was something one earned, not was just given.

Felix's smile remained plastered on his face throughout her whole explanation. She may not have been all that keen on everything here /yet/, but she'd see. In time she'd get to know everyone, and whatever was causing her paranoia would dissipate. At least, that's how he saw it – though he did find it strange that she would be so untrusting of people in the first place. He figured it was all the more reason so make her feel at home!

"Well, I assure you nothin' bad'll happen here. I've lived here most of my life – and everyone's been nothing but nice to me." He assured her as they rounded the corner that would take them back to the apartment. "But, it wouldn't be too much of a hassle to ask you to leave it in your room when you're in the apartment, would it?" He asked her, taking on a more apologetic look now. "I'd hate for you to get into trouble." In more ways than one. She could have been startled again and pulled it on someone else, and he knew some of the other tenants wouldn't hesitate to go to Gene (who had been a great friend of his father's, and had been appointed as the property manager) – and that man wasn't as lenient as he was when it came to certain things.

A sharp look entered her eyes at his request, turning to look at him, though at the look he was giving her it caused her to hesitate. It genuinely looked like he felt bad about asking it of her, at least a little and really didn't want to get her into trouble. If he had wanted to, she could have been kicked out already for her episode this morning. She didn't snap at him for his request, but remained silent for a moment before looking away from him. She didn't know this place well enough to feel comfortable yet, but what he was asking was something reasonable. "..I'll leave it when I'm in the apartments, but I take it with me when I'm out."

Felix nodded quickly in appreciation, sensing that it was a sensitive topic. For what possible reason, he couldn't be sure – but this woman, Ms. T. Calhoun, was beginning to fascinate him more and more as the day went on.

As they passed the parking lot again, she went to her car to grab her sleeping bag, that would just be what she needed to forget as it was the whole reason she had come down from her apartment in the first place. Holding the rolled material under her arm she matched his pace again. She had to admit, though she wouldn't say it out loud that despite her not having wanted to go originally, she didn't have to bad of a time. They were a bit of an odd bunch, that was for sure, but they were nice enough.

The pair arrived at the apartment again, and he held the door open for her to go through, quickly following after her and into the building itself. "Hello, Gene." The handyman greeted the stout man ahead of them, who was currently huddled over the front desk with an annoyed expression on his face, pen tapping irritately against his chin as he pored over some document in front of him. That is, until he heard Felix and looked up.

"Hello," he answered back, his eyes flicking from Felix to Calhoun, and back down to his paper in a series of sudden movements. He offered the two nothing more as he once again became absorbed in whatever it was he was reading.

Heading into the building she noticed a stout man sitting at the front counter. When he addressed him as Gene, she understood who the man must be, the building super she had been told about. Since he seemed busy and she didn't need anything from the man she continued past him to the elevator.

Felix simply grinned at the man and continued down the hall that would lead them to the elevator. Stopping before the door to it, he pressed the button to call the machine and turned to look at her, hands folded in front of him.

"It was nice spending time with you tonight, Ms. Calhoun." He told her, an unexplainable blush crossing his cheeks at that moment as he just stared at the still-closed door, "Hopefully we can do it again sometime."

The elevator wasn't waiting for them, so while they stood there while it came down to them she looked down at him. The redness in his face and bashful look had her a bit confused. He couldn't have enjoyed it that much, not because of her anyway. She wasn't much for riveting conversation and he knew nothing about her, realizing just then that she hadn't even given him her name. "…It's Tamora." Pausing for a moment she spoke up again. "Are you alright? Your face is all red."

_Tamora._

What a name.

He must have been grinning like a goof at that moment, for it didn't take her very long at all to point out his expression. He just nodded and glanced over to her once again, smile not faltering for an instance. "I'm fine;" he began, "Just got a case of the honeyglows, is all." He grinned, and sighed a bit, turning his head to look straight at her. "Miss, I've just gotta just tell ya – you are one dynamite gal."

Her body instantly tensed at his words, her hand gripping the material of her sleeping bag so tightly now her knuckles turned white. That simple phrase suddenly triggering an array of unpleasant memories that flashed across her mind, as a grimace crossed her features.

The memories flashed by quickly. Her just after she joined the marines and made the rank of Sergeant fairly quickly as her general introduced her to the weaponry specialist, Dr Brad Scott. Them in a small village where they were stationed having a picnic as the sun set behind them across the desert. Back in the barracks in his tent as he had prepared them a small meal with what he could, dropping down to one knee to propose to her. That had been the nickname he had used to describe her on those and many other occasions.

Then came the unpleasant memories. They were on enemy territory, her Platoon and him. He was captured. They searched for him for months with little success. Finally they found him, and he seemed unharmed. But they had all been wrong. He wanted to continue where they left off, with the wedding. But as she joined him at the altar and the ceremony began, she smiled over at him. But the look he returned was never something she had ever seen cross his face, one of pure evil and hatred. They had brainwashed him in his months of capture. He pulled out a gun, pointing it at her, but before he had time to fire, she pulled out her own pistol, opening fire on him to end it before he could do anyone any damage.

Snapping out of her daze she looked away from him, her eyes still wide as pain showed in the light blue orbs. She couldn't wait any longer for the elevator, it was taking too long. She needed to leave /now/ and get back to her apartment. "…I need to go." Seeing the door to her right she made a break for it, taking off up the stairs.

As soon as he'd said something, he knew something was wrong. The look on her face shifted from that of someone making idle conversation, to an unmistakably pained one; and he could only watch as a look of almost stunned-horror was painted across her face. Though it could only have lasted for an instance before she announced her departure, and moved for the nearby stairs.

"Go?" He repeated after her, looking utterly confused. He closed the distance between himself and the stairwell, stopping in the doorway to look up at her - but she may already have been halfway to the 7th floor by now.

What could have made her react so strongly? A look of concern flitted across his face as Tamora disappeared from view, and his heart sank a little. What had he been thinking!? She had told him herself that she wasn't one for surprises; and that comment - compliment or not - had come out of nowhere! Of course she was going to react adversely to it.

He stared up the stairwell for a moment more, before it became blindingly obvious that she had no intentions of coming back. Had it been something he'd said? His face fell at the notion, and the only thing that distracted him from the now-empty area was the 'ding' of the elevator opening behind him. He turned to look at it with a sigh, and stepped away from the doorway he was currently standing in and making his way back to his room.

Normally going up 7 flights of steps wouldn't particularly faze the seasoned Marine, but by the time she reached the 7th floor she was panting, her knuckles still white as she clutched her sleeping bag. Making her way out of the stairwell she headed straight to her room, hoping for nothing else to get into her way. She knew she shouldn't have gone out tonight. Why hadn't she just said no? Fumbling with her keys for a few seconds she unlocked the door before heading inside and locking it once more.

Leaning her back against the door she closed her eyes, taking deep breaths as she tried to clear the remaining memories from her mind. It had been 6 months since those events happened, but they still hurt. She didn't think it would ever stop hurting; it didn't help that she would often get night mares of what had happened, or worse.

After a few minutes she pushed herself off the door and headed into the bedroom located in the back of the apartment. No matter what awaited her when she fell asleep, that's still all she wanted to do at that moment.


	5. Chapter 5

Felix hadn't gotten much sleep at all. The previous night was spent tossing and turning, and trying not to fret over the fact that he may have made Tamora uncomfortable in some way. Eventually though, he managed to get to sleep, and hadn't been awoken until the next morning by the ringing of the phone.

"M'hello?" He asked, reaching up and rubbing his eye.

"Felix," came the voice of Gene, "I need you to check out a burst pipe. Some of the folks up on 7th were complaining that water was leaking down from their ceiling." He explained.

"Oh – um, alright." The handyman stifled a yawn, and glanced over at the clock on the wall to see that it read 9:30am. Oh, he had definitely overslept. "Which room is it?"

"Mm, according to the floor plan… It'd be 709."

Felix's face fell. " – Alright Gene, I can fix it." He told the other man, who just chuckled and said his goodbyes before hanging up. Felix let his head fall back slightly and sighed. After the way she had reacted the previous night, combined with the fact that the woman seemed to absolutely detest the unexpected – he really didn't want to go up there.

Though there wasn't much he could do about it, he supposed. Duty called. So with another sigh, he went back into his room and began getting ready for work.

Felix slowly climbed the stairs leading up to the 7th floor. He had opted to not take the elevator, if only for the simple fact that that stairs would give him an excuse to stall. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the list of all the various tasks he had to do, and fought back an uncomfortable groan.

Surely there could have been something on the list that could be fulfilled before this one.

But no… a burst pipe was pretty serious; and if people were already complaining about it, then it needed to be fixed as soon as possible, or there could be the risk of developing more serious problems later on.

Eventually, he reached the 7th floor and opened the door leading from the stairwell into the hall, clutching a small toolbox at his side. He did /not/ want to do this. But he knew exactly what his father would say if he found out he wasn't doing his duty, just because he felt a little uncomfortable. So, steeling himself, he made his way down the hall and approached the door. Taking a deep breath, and knocking on it.

Despite being on hiatus, her military internal clock was still running, much to her displeasure. She hadn't slept well the previous night, and it didn't help that she wasn't a morning person anyway. Waking up at the crack of dawn was one thing, but then her things had arrived and she had to direct two buffoons to bring her things up to the right place. She was glad she didn't have a lot to bring in.

By the time 9:00 rolled around they had brought everything in and paced the main furniture in the desired locations. Having a bed now, though it had no sheets on it yet she rolled her sleeping bag up and placed it on top of the bed temporarily until she put everything away.

She wasn't expecting anyone to stop by, so her hair was still tussled from earlier and though she wasn't one to get 'dolled up' she didn't have the small amount of makeup on that she usually did.

Calhoun had started sorting the boxes out to where they needed to go, which wouldn't take long. There was at most 10 boxes total. She almost dropped one when someone knocked, turning to the door her eyes narrowed slightly. Did one of the movers forget something? Setting the box down on the small stack in front of her and moved to the door.

He waited a moment nervously, looking around the walls that he had seen countless times before until the unmistakable sound of the doorknob being turned and his line of vision snapped in front of him.

Unlocking the door she left the chain lock intact as she opened the door a few inches. She looked out at her height, but her eyes were soon directed lower as she saw the handyman before her. A slight frown crossed her features as she recalled last night. "…Fix it?" Why would he be here? "Need something?"

To his surprise, the door didn't open all the way – it wasn't often that the people in the apartments weren't completely welcoming, but he supposed it made sense for Tamora– it only threw him off for a moment though, and he cleared his throat and swallowed his nervousness to speak.

"Morning, ma'am." He greeted, attempting a smile, "Sorry to bother you. But, I got a call about a pipe bursting…" he said sheepishly, holding up his toolbox a little, "Mind if I come in and have a look?"

She didn't hesitate long, looking down at him for but a moment before she shut the door again. She didn't particularly feel like dealing with more possible trigger words, but being a handyman she knew he had a job to do. Not to mention she didn't need to fall through her floor from water damage.

Running her hand through her hair she sighed slightly before unlocking the chain and opening the door as she stepped to the side. Calhoun wore a set of black cavies, tight pants that reached her mid calf and another simple wife beater though this one was white. Even with her things moved in, there wasn't much to what she had. A simple loveseat, beige sat in the middle of the living room, a bookshelf against the back wall along with about 10 boxes of thing next to it.

She stood aside to allow him in, motioning slightly with her hand. "Do what you need to do."

Giving her a curt nod, he shuffled past her and into the room. He walked with quickened steps further into the room, and it was then that he realized he had no idea exactly /where/ the burst pipe was; and he inwardly cursed himself for not asking Gene where the other tenant had been complaining of a leak.

Oh well, he supposed he'd just have to look for it. Despite how intrusive he felt at that moment.

He checked the bathroom, and after a few minutes of poking around determined that nothing was wrong; so he moved onto the kitchen, and that's where he found the problem. There was water quite clearly pooling at the back of the cupboard and running down the wall; and after a quick inspection, he determined that a small bit of corrosion on the pipe was the cause of the problem.

"Well, I see the problem – but I think I'm going to have to turn the water off before I can fix it properly…" He told her, pushing himself out from under the sink and rubbing his arm nervously. He knew that she probably wanted to be left alone to settle in, and his constant pestering of her was probably not helping her much.

Closing the door behind him, she stayed out of his way. She knew nothing about fixing things so she just left him be though kept a close eye on him. Leaning against the wall beside the kitchen as she watched him tackle the task at hand, he didn't seem to know where it was at first. When he figured it out she nodded slightly. "…Alright. Can you turn it off from here?"

"No, I'll have to go down to the basement." He explained, pushing himself back up into a standing position. At least leaving to turn off the water would get him out of her hair, even if only for a moment. He made his way back to the door, perhaps moving a little more quickly than he should have and turned back to look at her. "It'll only take a moment thought." He said, stepping back out in hall, and making his way towards the stairs again.

"Alright. Door will be unlocked." She watched as he left, rolling her shoulders slightly to relax her body once he's left to release tension she didn't realize she had. She could tell he was nervous around her still and after yesterday she wasn't at all surprised.

Knowing she wasn't the most pleasant and open person to be around she knew he was just here to fix the pipe. There was something about the handyman though that intrigued her. She didn't know what it was, and she would deny it if someone asked her about it but she had liked spending time with him, she had actually felt herself…relaxing. Before he called her that phrase that is.

After he left she found herself pacing in thought. She should say something to him; he didn't know what his words had done to make her memories come back. Realizing she was pacing after a few passes she scowled before sitting down on the loveseat, tucking her feet under herself.

He made his way down to the basement with uneasiness tugging at his stomach. He didn't know how this pipe had been allowed to get into that condition, but it was causing him more tension than he'd care to admit. The room had been vacant for so long, he supposed.

Reaching the basement, he unlocked the door leading to the maintenance room and turned the valve that controlled the building's water. He would have to be quick so that he didn't inconvenience too many people, but getting in and out of there as quickly as possibly was fine by him.

He decided to take the elevator this time, and in no time it let him off at the 8th floor again; where he quickly made his way back to her room. Hesitating for only a moment, he pushed the door open and smiled at her for a moment before heading back to the sink.

Kneeling back down on the ground again, he flipped open his tool box and took out a tube of sealant – and more than happy to see that the temporary turning off of the water had stopped the leak, he was able to patch the corroded areas. After he was satisfied with it, he pulled back again and looked at her.

"That should do it, ma'am." He told her, still trying to hide his nervousness. "I'd ask ya not to use that sink for a couple hours, until the sealant dries completely; and I'll be sure to get a replacement pipe so we don't have this problem again anytime soon." He told her, closing his toolbox back up again and standing up. "I'll get outta your hair now." He gave her an awkward smile and pointed over his shoulder at her door.

When he came back in, she rested her arm over the back of the couch, watching him work quietly. As he stood though she looked away in an attempt to look like she hadn't been staring. What was wrong with her? He was just some guy she met yesterday; this kind of stuff was not something she should be thinking about right now.

Calhoun stood up as he spoke of leaving, nodding her head as she moved over to him. "...Alright. Just let me know when you need to get back in to fix it." She ran a hand though her hair, trying to sooth some of the unease in her body before she continued. "I need to go out, if you're not in too much of a rush, can you tell me the way to the store?"

Felix stopped in the doorway and turned to look back at her at the sound of her voice. He felt a flutter of excitement spread in his chest at the notion of her needing his help further – either that, or she really just needed directions to the store, and he was the most convenient way to get them.

"Oh sure," he grinned, "What were ya looking to buy? There's a grocery store a couple blocks away from Tapper's. If you just keep headin' straight down that street, you'll hit it. There's also a little shopping mall in the other direction. You can get pretty much anything there – oh, and the hardware store is right across from that," he laughed a little, "that one's my favorite."

She couldn't help but smile slightly t his words, he was helpful that was for sure. Though she could have been more specific. "Grocery store is just past Tappers? That's easy enough then."Heading into her bedroom she disappeared for a moment as she grabbed her wallet, cellphone and gun, tucking it into her pants out of sight she headed back in. "..Thanks"

"Anytime," he answered her with a light grin and a tip of his hat. As she headed out, his brow knit together a little in thought, and he decided to let spill the thing that had been plaguing his mind most of the previous night. "Oh, and Miss – if I said something yesterday to offend you, I really didn't mean to," he told her, taking on a more apologetic look and bringing his hands behind his back.

Her sudden departure the night before, though it didn't seem to be affecting her that much now, had certainly left him more than puzzled before; and he couldn't let her leave without clearing his conscience of it.

As they both headed out the door, she moved to lock it behind her only to pause at his words. She didn't turn to look at him right away, a slight frown on her lips. He would try to apologize not even knowing what he did wrong, though she didn't plan on telling him or anyone about her problems. "It's fine. Don't worry about it." Putting her keys back into her pocket she turned to look at him again.

"Really?" Felix blinked in surprise. Judging from her reaction the previous day, he'd say that something must have happened to affect her so greatly. Her expression read that she wasn't exactly happy that the topic was brought up either, and it only made him wonder what exactly had happened. He didn't want to push anything though. "Well that's a relief," he chuckled, bringing his hand up to rest on his head for a moment as he followed after her down the hall. "I coulda sworn I'd said something wrong."

She shook her head as she walked towards the elevator. If he was going to follow after her, not that she particularly found her minding that fact, she had to change the subject. Not needing another episode. "Don't worry about it." She repeated her earlier statement, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye as her longer stride fell to match his for a moment.

Her eyes took in the goofy hat on top of his head. Was that part of his uniform? He had been wearing it yesterday too. With quick hands she reached up to pull it down over his eyes, hoping that would end the unpleasant part of the conversation. Arriving at the elevator she hit the button to go down to the lobby as he recovered.

The handyman felt himself smiling in relief. So she really hadn't minded. Or she had, and she was just being nice. He decided to let the topic go, as it was obvious she no longer cared to speak about it – and simply follow her back down to the lobby.

They arrived in front of the elevator, but before the machine could even sound to signal its arrival, did he feel something swift move to tug his hat down over his eyes. That was one way to turn the conversation. After realizing what had happened, he reached up to reposition his hat and looked at her in surprise from under the brim of it.

By the time he had fixed his hat, she was looking at the elevator door as if she hadn't done anything, but the slight upturn of her lips gave that away. She didn't know what it was about him, but she felt herself relaxing around him, which was something she hadn't been able to do in months, not since it all happened anyway.

That had actually been… playful; and from what he had seen of Tamora so far, she seemed to be far from the playful type. The sudden change in demeanor was more than welcome though, and after he'd composed himself, he grinned back at her with amusement.

Before he knew it, the elevator door slid open to allow the pair access and he entered it with her, hitting the floor for the lobby.

Since he hit the appropriate button she leaned against the back wall of the elevator. Ticking off what she needed to get from the store in her head, she glanced over at him out of the corner of her eye.

Tapping his free hand against his leg absentmindedly, he fumbled in his mind for something he could say to break the awkward silence that had fallen over them. He found himself wanting to spend more time with her; but he couldn't exactly invite himself along with her.

He still had a job to do, after all – but he could also take a little 'break' in order to help out a new tenant, if she were to need it. He still needed to wait for a bunch of supply orders to come in anyways, before he could finish some of the more prominent projects in the apartment.

But no, he was getting ahead of himself. She hadn't even said anything, and he was already fumbling all over himself. So, trying to regain a little composure, he cleared his throat and looked to her with a somewhat nervous smile, "So, what are you buying?" He asked the first thing that came to mind, then inwardly scolded himself – that wasn't any of his business.

She could tell by the way he was fidgeting that he was still nervous, though she wondered what thoughts were passing through his mind. Figuring he just had something to do in the lobby, she didn't think he was following her on purpose. As he cleared his throat though she turned her head to fully look at him, arching a brow slightly at his question.

Shrugging her shoulders slightly, she slipped her hands into her pockets. "Just the basics. I didn't bring any supplies with me." She still spoke in her military lingo, which she figured he wouldn't understand so she elaborated. "I'm just picking up some groceries to get myself stocked up."

"Ohh," he nodded in acknowledgement, as they descended into silence again. He didn't want to risk saying anything foolish again, but he /did/ take note of her own terminology. It was a little different from the folks around here, but she wasn't from around here, so that explained that.

He had no idea of her background before she had moved into the apartment, but judging from the fact that she found the need to carry a gun with her, and she had the best darn reaction time he'd ever seen – it couldn't have been anything mundane.

The elevator doors slid open, and revealed the lobby and Felix exited it after her.

"Well, enjoy your shopping, Ma'am," he grinned a little and lifted his hand to wave at her.

Shopping, now that was something she enjoyed about as much as shooting herself in the foot. Calhoun hated shopping but it was a task that needed to be done. Exiting the elevator she turned to look at him, finding herself a bit reluctant to leave, though this also annoyed her to some extent. Despite what she was told would help her, getting out, making friends and relaxing. She didn't plan to stay here long. Her goal was to be cleared for combat again and go back.

There wasn't time to relax or 'make friends' she wasn't a child. Then why did she hesitate around him? Find herself enjoying spending time with him, at least a little bit? Shaking her head slightly she turned from him and headed for the door. "See you later, short stuff." It wasn't said in a mean way, more like one would use when saying a nick name.

"Bye," he waved back at her, his expression becoming soft and dreamy like it had on their first meeting in the hallway. He snapped himself out of hit however, when he realized what he was doing. He was staring after this woman in the lobby of the apartment!

His eyes ripped away from the corner she had just turned to look around the lobby –thankfully though, only Gene was around, and he was still busy reading whatever it was he had been reading the previous night; and looking more annoyed by it, too.

She didn't catch the look cast her way as she quickly exited the lobby. She had to get her shopping done today, she didn't have anything she needed currently and she didn't have time to get distracted by a friendly handyman.

Felix took this opportunity to slip out of the room and into the stairwell. He had to talk to someone right then, so stepping out onto the second floor, he transverse the long hallway and came to a stop at Ralph's closed door.


End file.
